January 31 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA
ACC Network
Time to mute the broadcasters and listen to music all game!
(Virginia shot 56% from three-point range and won 74-64 to move to 21-1 overall and 10-0 in ACC play).
Here's a nice collection of songs for something we like to call Singles Night:
Fight Test - Flaming Lips
Step - Vampire Weekend
Wild Child - Lou Reed
You Keep Me Hanging On - Supremes
Uncle John's Band - Grateful Dead
Venus as a Boy - Bjork
Yer So Bad - Tom Petty
Genghis Khan - Mike Snow
In An Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
Gumboots - Paul Simon
Paper Planes - MIA
Cherish- Madonna
First Light - Bela Fleck
I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen) - The Staves
Without You - David Bowie
Angel from Montgomery - Bonnie Raitt
Humpty Dumpty - Chick Corea Acoustic Band
Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
I Say a Little Prayer - Aretha Franklin
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
These Days - Jackson Browne
Feel Flows - Beach Boys
A New Wave - Sleater-Kinney
Game 505 - Fordham women at Saint Louis
January 31 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO
NBC Sports Network
I thought with Fordham's leader G'mrice Davis out for Wednesday afternoon's game it'd be a back court battle between the Rams' Bre Cavanaugh and Jackie Kemph of Saint Louis. And while both players were very good - Cavanaugh scored 37 points and Kemph had 21 points with nine assists - I was most impressed with Billikens' senior froward Maddison Gits.
Gits scored a career-high 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds in a 91-85, double-overtime for the hosts.
Davis came into the day second nationally in rebounding and averaging a team-best 16.7 points. With her out of the lineup, Cavanaugh, the team's second-leading scorer but just a freshman, took on the majority of the scoring responsibility and it took her 30 shots to get to that career-high scoring mark. It didn't help that Mary Goulding had nine first-quarter points, but just nine the rest of the day and Lauren Holden scored just nine of her 17 after the break.
Kemph, a senior and the school's all-time leader in points and assists, had 17 of her points after halftime. Saint Louis erased a 16-point second-half deficit and actually led 65-59 with about 4 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth. That's when Cavanaugh and Gits began trading points over the final stretch of the fourth. After Kemph fed Gits for a bucket that put the Billikens up 69-68 with just under a minute left, a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line for Kemph and Cavanaugh's 2-of-2 trip to tie things up at 70-70 with 10 seconds left were the last points of regulation.
The first overtime was fairly uneventful - just five points for each team and Jordyn Frantz of Saint Louis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Cavanaugh began the second extra session by scoring the first eight Fordham points, including a jumper with two minutes to play that tied it at 83-83. The Billikens took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Kemph on the ensuing possession.
Saint Louis (12-10), which moved to 6-3 in Atlantic 10 play and dropped Fordham (17-6) to 8-2, really turned things around with a great third quarter. The Billikens trailed 41-27 at halftime and by 16 at one point in the third, but ending up shooting 10-of-14 from the field in that period and led by two heading to the fourth.
NBC Sports Network
I thought with Fordham's leader G'mrice Davis out for Wednesday afternoon's game it'd be a back court battle between the Rams' Bre Cavanaugh and Jackie Kemph of Saint Louis. And while both players were very good - Cavanaugh scored 37 points and Kemph had 21 points with nine assists - I was most impressed with Billikens' senior froward Maddison Gits.
Gits scored a career-high 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds in a 91-85, double-overtime for the hosts.
Davis came into the day second nationally in rebounding and averaging a team-best 16.7 points. With her out of the lineup, Cavanaugh, the team's second-leading scorer but just a freshman, took on the majority of the scoring responsibility and it took her 30 shots to get to that career-high scoring mark. It didn't help that Mary Goulding had nine first-quarter points, but just nine the rest of the day and Lauren Holden scored just nine of her 17 after the break.
Kemph, a senior and the school's all-time leader in points and assists, had 17 of her points after halftime. Saint Louis erased a 16-point second-half deficit and actually led 65-59 with about 4 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth. That's when Cavanaugh and Gits began trading points over the final stretch of the fourth. After Kemph fed Gits for a bucket that put the Billikens up 69-68 with just under a minute left, a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line for Kemph and Cavanaugh's 2-of-2 trip to tie things up at 70-70 with 10 seconds left were the last points of regulation.
The first overtime was fairly uneventful - just five points for each team and Jordyn Frantz of Saint Louis missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Cavanaugh began the second extra session by scoring the first eight Fordham points, including a jumper with two minutes to play that tied it at 83-83. The Billikens took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Kemph on the ensuing possession.
Saint Louis (12-10), which moved to 6-3 in Atlantic 10 play and dropped Fordham (17-6) to 8-2, really turned things around with a great third quarter. The Billikens trailed 41-27 at halftime and by 16 at one point in the third, but ending up shooting 10-of-14 from the field in that period and led by two heading to the fourth.
Game 504 - VMI at Samford
January 29 at Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, AL
espn3.com
What a game for Triston Chambers.
The sophomore guard was 8-of-13 from three-point range on his way to a career-high 34 points in Samford's 93-79 win.
Chambers got a ton of help from his teammates as the other four starters all reached double-figures: 14 each for Justin Coleman (and six assists), Eric Adams and Demetrius Denzel-Dyson and 12 for Josh Sharkey (and seven assists). That quintet made more than half of their field goal attempts (27-of-53).
* Play-by-play man Curt Bloom is now a front-runner for our Nonsense of the Year award:
"VMI is playing with something that's not in our stat sheet - it's called swagger. And you can't teach that."
Curt!
Excellent work, sir.
espn3.com
What a game for Triston Chambers.
The sophomore guard was 8-of-13 from three-point range on his way to a career-high 34 points in Samford's 93-79 win.
Chambers got a ton of help from his teammates as the other four starters all reached double-figures: 14 each for Justin Coleman (and six assists), Eric Adams and Demetrius Denzel-Dyson and 12 for Josh Sharkey (and seven assists). That quintet made more than half of their field goal attempts (27-of-53).
* Play-by-play man Curt Bloom is now a front-runner for our Nonsense of the Year award:
"VMI is playing with something that's not in our stat sheet - it's called swagger. And you can't teach that."
Curt!
Excellent work, sir.
Game 503 - Old Dominion women at Rice
January 28 at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX
espn3.com
The Matt Pedersen & John Witten Top 8:
"she's truly brought culture"....
...."not only culture, but charisma"
"gamesmanship"
"court awareness"
"she's just out-quicking her"
"euro step"
"the most valuable thing in the gym is the basketball"
"they trust their system"
And finally, a quick "basketball" count:
Total: 31
Pedersen: 20
Witten: 11
espn3.com
The Matt Pedersen & John Witten Top 8:
"she's truly brought culture"....
...."not only culture, but charisma"
"gamesmanship"
"court awareness"
"she's just out-quicking her"
"euro step"
"the most valuable thing in the gym is the basketball"
"they trust their system"
And finally, a quick "basketball" count:
Total: 31
Pedersen: 20
Witten: 11
Game 502 - Colorado State at New Mexico
January 27 at The Pit in Albuquerque, NM
ESPN
Always nice to hear from Richie Schueler, who combined with Trey Bender for a fine night of saying the word "basketball":
Total: 30
First half: 16, Second: 14
Bender: 8
Schueler: 22
Notable
"taking care of the basketball" (said eight times)
"...and is saying 'give me the basketball so I can finish'"
ESPN
Always nice to hear from Richie Schueler, who combined with Trey Bender for a fine night of saying the word "basketball":
Total: 30
First half: 16, Second: 14
Bender: 8
Schueler: 22
Notable
"taking care of the basketball" (said eight times)
"...and is saying 'give me the basketball so I can finish'"
Games 500-501: Sun Belt squeaker
501 - Texas State at Georgia State
January 27 at GSU Sports Arena
Georgia State had been 0-of-5 from the free-throw line before D'Marcus Simonds stepped to the stripe and knocked down four straight over the final 20 seconds as the Panthers escaped with a 54-50 victory.
It was a defensive struggle as Texas State, top-15 nationally in scoring defense, held GSU to its lowest point total since a 71-56 loss to Prairie View A&M on November 22 which from this point on we shall never, ever again speak of.
Meanwhile, GSU's top-20 nationally in field goal percentage defense & held the Bobcats to 35% shooting and a 2-of-16 performance from three.
Simonds did some great things just before those clutch free throws. Texas State led 48-46 when Simonds made a pair of difficult baskets in the lane to put GSU in front 50-48 with just under a minute to go. GSU's defense then came up with the stop of the day, forcing a shot clock violation with 25 seconds left. Texas State hadn't yet reached the double-bonus, so Simonds was faced with a pair of one-and-one situations and he calmly sent the Panthers to their seventh straight win.
A three-step guide to how you end up winning only 54-50 when you shoot 49% from the field and hold your opponent to 35%
1. you turn the ball over 16 times (Texas State had 11 (!) steals)
2. you give up 12 offensive rebounds, including three on one possession with under three minutes to play, which didn't even end up leading to points for Texas State, but still: someone grab a defensive rebound
3. two players - Simonds (20 points) and Jeff Thomas (14 points) - score more than half your points
But a win to move to 7-2 in Sun Belt play (after starting 0-2) is all that really matters.
500 - Texas State women at Georgia State
January 27 at GSU Sports Arena
The Georgia State women didn't play a good second half at all, but I'm not sure a well-played final 20 minutes would've helped with the way Toshua Leavitt and Taeler Deer performed on Saturday.
Leavitt was 10-of-16 from three-point range to tie a career high with 34 points (the 10 threes also equaled her career-best) and Deer handed out a career-best 14 assists to go along with 19 points in the Bobcats' 83-63 victory.
GSU led at the break 36-35, but the visitors from San Marcos hit half of their 16 threes in the second half, led by the incredible Leavitt (6-of-9). In fact, Madison Newby's free throws with 1:47 left in the third put the Panthers up 51-50, but three straight bad defensive possessions followed, including the inability to locate Leavitt on a pair of 3-pointers, and a lay-in by Ti'Aria Pitts with three seconds to play made it a 58-51 game. The hosts never recovered in the final period.
January 27 at GSU Sports Arena
Georgia State had been 0-of-5 from the free-throw line before D'Marcus Simonds stepped to the stripe and knocked down four straight over the final 20 seconds as the Panthers escaped with a 54-50 victory.
It was a defensive struggle as Texas State, top-15 nationally in scoring defense, held GSU to its lowest point total since a 71-56 loss to Prairie View A&M on November 22 which from this point on we shall never, ever again speak of.
Meanwhile, GSU's top-20 nationally in field goal percentage defense & held the Bobcats to 35% shooting and a 2-of-16 performance from three.
Simonds did some great things just before those clutch free throws. Texas State led 48-46 when Simonds made a pair of difficult baskets in the lane to put GSU in front 50-48 with just under a minute to go. GSU's defense then came up with the stop of the day, forcing a shot clock violation with 25 seconds left. Texas State hadn't yet reached the double-bonus, so Simonds was faced with a pair of one-and-one situations and he calmly sent the Panthers to their seventh straight win.
A three-step guide to how you end up winning only 54-50 when you shoot 49% from the field and hold your opponent to 35%
1. you turn the ball over 16 times (Texas State had 11 (!) steals)
2. you give up 12 offensive rebounds, including three on one possession with under three minutes to play, which didn't even end up leading to points for Texas State, but still: someone grab a defensive rebound
3. two players - Simonds (20 points) and Jeff Thomas (14 points) - score more than half your points
But a win to move to 7-2 in Sun Belt play (after starting 0-2) is all that really matters.
500 - Texas State women at Georgia State
January 27 at GSU Sports Arena
The Georgia State women didn't play a good second half at all, but I'm not sure a well-played final 20 minutes would've helped with the way Toshua Leavitt and Taeler Deer performed on Saturday.
Leavitt was 10-of-16 from three-point range to tie a career high with 34 points (the 10 threes also equaled her career-best) and Deer handed out a career-best 14 assists to go along with 19 points in the Bobcats' 83-63 victory.
GSU led at the break 36-35, but the visitors from San Marcos hit half of their 16 threes in the second half, led by the incredible Leavitt (6-of-9). In fact, Madison Newby's free throws with 1:47 left in the third put the Panthers up 51-50, but three straight bad defensive possessions followed, including the inability to locate Leavitt on a pair of 3-pointers, and a lay-in by Ti'Aria Pitts with three seconds to play made it a 58-51 game. The hosts never recovered in the final period.
Game 499 - Middle Tennessee women at Marshall
January 26 at Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, WV
espn3.com
"dribble penetration"
We've talked about "dribble drive" before on this site. It isn't anything because the next drive attempted without dribbling will be called traveling.
Dribble penetration seems to be the cousin of dribble drive because, again, is there penetration into the lane without also dribbling?
Our next mission at 200 Game Season is to hear "dribble drive penetration".
Make it happen, Bill Raftery.
espn3.com
"dribble penetration"
We've talked about "dribble drive" before on this site. It isn't anything because the next drive attempted without dribbling will be called traveling.
Dribble penetration seems to be the cousin of dribble drive because, again, is there penetration into the lane without also dribbling?
Our next mission at 200 Game Season is to hear "dribble drive penetration".
Make it happen, Bill Raftery.
Game 497-498: Thursday split
498 - UT Arlington at Georgia State
January 25 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
Nice win for the Panthers, who got everything they could've asked for from D'Marcus Simonds in an 81-75 win.
The sophomore poured in 29 points on 13-of-27 shooting, and added 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Another great atmosphere at the arena as well tonight and it got louder and louder as the game went on. GSU erased an eight-point first-half deficit and a seven-point deficit in the second half to win its sixth straight. Also a great night for Jordan Session, who played excellent defense and contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds (six offensive), his second double-double of the season and first since a November 26 win over Tulane.
Back to Simonds, who came into the night tied for 24th nationally in scoring, then put together his 11th 20-point game of the year. Current Houston Rocket R.J. Hunter holds the school's scoring record with 1,819 points (which he accomplished in just three seasons), but if this pace continues for Simonds - he's at 836 career points on January 25 of his sophomore season - he's sure to pass Hunter at some point.
Kevin Hervey, who came into the night just .3 points back of Simonds atop the Sun Belt scoring leader board, scored 22 and he and Kaelon Wilson (21 points) combined for a 17-of-33 shooting night, but their teammates were just 10-of-35.
497 - UT Arlington women at Georgia State
January 25 at GSU Sports Arena
A really tough loss for the Georgia State women in the opener as UT Arlington scored nine of the last 12 points of overtime to pick up a 81-76 victory. Before that, GSU had a shot to win the game in regulation, but trailing 70-69 with 1.8 seconds left, Juliet James missed the back end of a 1-and-1.
It would've been an even worse loss for the visiting Mavericks, who led by 16 points in the opening half. Madison Newby was terrific with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 12 assists and led GSU back into it, but she attempted just two shots and scored two points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
It looked like UT Arlington's Rebecca VanDijk was going to dominate all evening and the Mavericks were going to cruise. VanDijk started the game hitting her first six shots, all of which came within two feet of the basket, and had 23 points by halftime. But like Arlington's defense on Newby, Georgia State focused on doubling and making life uncomfortable for Van Dijk and the senior scored just four points after halftime.
Janessa Murphy stepped up for GSU - 17 of her 20 points after halftime - and Laurynn McGowen did the same for the visitors - 13 of her 20 after the break.
January 25 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
Nice win for the Panthers, who got everything they could've asked for from D'Marcus Simonds in an 81-75 win.
The sophomore poured in 29 points on 13-of-27 shooting, and added 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Another great atmosphere at the arena as well tonight and it got louder and louder as the game went on. GSU erased an eight-point first-half deficit and a seven-point deficit in the second half to win its sixth straight. Also a great night for Jordan Session, who played excellent defense and contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds (six offensive), his second double-double of the season and first since a November 26 win over Tulane.
Back to Simonds, who came into the night tied for 24th nationally in scoring, then put together his 11th 20-point game of the year. Current Houston Rocket R.J. Hunter holds the school's scoring record with 1,819 points (which he accomplished in just three seasons), but if this pace continues for Simonds - he's at 836 career points on January 25 of his sophomore season - he's sure to pass Hunter at some point.
Kevin Hervey, who came into the night just .3 points back of Simonds atop the Sun Belt scoring leader board, scored 22 and he and Kaelon Wilson (21 points) combined for a 17-of-33 shooting night, but their teammates were just 10-of-35.
497 - UT Arlington women at Georgia State
January 25 at GSU Sports Arena
A really tough loss for the Georgia State women in the opener as UT Arlington scored nine of the last 12 points of overtime to pick up a 81-76 victory. Before that, GSU had a shot to win the game in regulation, but trailing 70-69 with 1.8 seconds left, Juliet James missed the back end of a 1-and-1.
It would've been an even worse loss for the visiting Mavericks, who led by 16 points in the opening half. Madison Newby was terrific with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and 12 assists and led GSU back into it, but she attempted just two shots and scored two points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
It looked like UT Arlington's Rebecca VanDijk was going to dominate all evening and the Mavericks were going to cruise. VanDijk started the game hitting her first six shots, all of which came within two feet of the basket, and had 23 points by halftime. But like Arlington's defense on Newby, Georgia State focused on doubling and making life uncomfortable for Van Dijk and the senior scored just four points after halftime.
Janessa Murphy stepped up for GSU - 17 of her 20 points after halftime - and Laurynn McGowen did the same for the visitors - 13 of her 20 after the break.
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